Site Investigations in the Earthquake Zone: ITU Civil Engineering - JSCE Earthquake Engineering Committee Collaboration

by Ramazan Özgür İridere | Dec 13, 2023

Project Title: Investigation of the Effects of the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes on Infrastructure Systems and Art Structures
Supporting Institutions: Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) – University of Tokyo
Project Coordinators: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Beyza TAŞKIN (ITU) – Prof. Dr. Yusuke ONO (Tottori University)

Under the coordination of Assoc. Prof. Dr. Beyza Taşkın, one of the faculty members of the Reinforced Concrete Structures Working Group of ITU Civil Engineering Department and also the Secretary General of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (JSCE) - Turkey Section with Res. Asst. Muzaffer Yazar, 9 Japanese scientists working at 9 different universities and institutions who were appointed by the JSCE Earthquake Engineering Committee carried out a five-day field research covering Adıyaman, Kahramanmaraş, Gaziantep and Hatay provinces starting on 05.05.2023.



Within the scope of field research, public institutions and organizations were visited in the provinces where the survey was conducted and damage inspections were carried out in various public buildings, as well as drinking water, waste water lines, water and power stations, highway and railway bridges, viaducts and grade crossings. Opinions and impressions of the local citizens were interviewed. Soil samples were taken from areas where liquefaction was observed and experiments were carried out in the ITU Geotechnical Laboratory. Microtremor measurements were realized in various spots under the leadership of Dr. Yoshimi, who was in the research team representing the Japan Geological Survey and drone shots were taken under the leadership of Dr. Shiga from Nagaoka University.
Following the completion of the field research, a project proposal was submitted in cooperation with ITU and Tsukuba University within the scope of the TUBITAK Turkey-Japan joint research projects call.